היא לא רק הייתה חלשה בבוקר, אלא גם עייפה מאוד.

It means not only ... but also.

In this sentence:

היא לא רק הייתה חלשה בבוקר, אלא גם עייפה מאוד.

the pattern is:

• לא רק = not only
• אלא גם = but also

So Hebrew is using a fixed contrast/addition structure, very much like English.

A useful thing to remember: after לא רק, Hebrew normally uses אלא גם rather than אבל גם.

הייתה is the feminine singular past form of להיות = to be.

Hebrew usually does not use a present-tense word for is/are in simple sentences with adjectives. For example:

• היא חלשה = she is weak
• היא עייפה = she is tired

But in the past, Hebrew does use to be:

• היא הייתה חלשה = she was weak
• היא הייתה עייפה = she was tired

So הייתה is there because the sentence is in the past: she was.

Because the subject is היא = she.

In Hebrew, verbs in the past tense and adjectives must agree with the subject in gender and number.

Here the subject is:

• היא = she, feminine singular

So the sentence uses feminine singular forms:

• הייתה = she was
• חלשה = weak, feminine singular
• עייפה = tired, feminine singular

If the subject were masculine, you would get:

• הוא לא רק היה חלש בבוקר, אלא גם עייף מאוד.

בבוקר means in the morning.

It is made of:

• ב־ = in
• הבוקר = the morning

When ב־ is attached to a noun with ה־, they combine:

• ב + הבוקר = בבוקר

So this is not just morning, but specifically in the morning.

In Hebrew, מאוד = very usually comes after the adjective.

So:

• עייפה מאוד = very tired
• חלשה מאוד = very weak

This is normal Hebrew word order.

English says very tired, but Hebrew says the equivalent of tired very.

They are similar in feeling, but not the same.

• חלשה = weak, lacking strength, physically weak
• עייפה = tired, fatigued, sleepy/exhausted

So the sentence is saying she was not only physically weak in the morning, but also very tired.

This pairing makes sense because the two adjectives describe different but related conditions.

Sometimes yes, especially if the subject is already clear from context.

Because הייתה already shows feminine singular, Hebrew can sometimes say:

לא רק הייתה חלשה בבוקר, אלא גם עייפה מאוד.

However, keeping היא often makes the sentence clearer, more natural in isolation, or slightly more emphatic.

So in a standalone sentence, היא is very normal and often preferable.

Hebrew often omits repeated words when they are understood.

So instead of saying:

היא לא רק הייתה חלשה בבוקר, אלא גם הייתה עייפה מאוד

Hebrew can shorten it to:

היא לא רק הייתה חלשה בבוקר, אלא גם עייפה מאוד

Both are understandable, but the version without the second הייתה is smoother and less repetitive.

English does something similar:

• She was not only weak in the morning, but also very tired

We do not have to repeat was there either.

The sentence as written is very natural:

היא לא רק הייתה חלשה בבוקר, אלא גם עייפה מאוד.

Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but this structure is the standard and clearest one for not only ... but also.

For example, you might also hear variations depending on emphasis, but learners should treat this pattern as the default:

• לא רק X, אלא גם Y

So it is best to learn the whole expression as a chunk.

A simple transliteration is:

Hi lo rak hayta chalasha baboker, ela gam ayefa me'od.

A few notes:

• היא = hi
• הייתה = hayta
• חלשה = chalasha or khalasha, with the ח sound from the throat
• עייפה = ayefa
• מאוד = me'od

If saying it naturally, the stress usually falls like this:

hi lo RAK hayTA chalaSHA baBOker, eLA gam ayeFA meOD

In the present tense, Hebrew usually drops the verb to be in this kind of sentence.

So the present-tense version would be:

היא לא רק חלשה בבוקר, אלא גם עייפה מאוד.

Literally:

• She not only weak in the morning, but also very tired

Natural English:

• She is not only weak in the morning, but also very tired

This is a very important Hebrew pattern: no present-tense is/are in simple adjective sentences.